OHIO AND QUÉBEC: AN EMERGING AEROSPACE PARTNERSHIP | News

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OHIO AND QUÉBEC: AN EMERGING AEROSPACE PARTNERSHIP

Over the past five years, the Québec Government Office in the Midwest and the Canadian Consulate General in Detroit have worked together to deepen the ties between the Ohio and Québec aerospace clusters. Ohio is Québec’s #1 trading partner in the Midwest, a reality that reflects the great complementarity between our economies. Nowhere is this truer than in the aerospace sector, where both jurisdictions have staked out a leadership position in their respective country.

Part of this relationship is driven by investment: Québec companies like Héroux-Devtek already have a strong presence in Ohio, and Ohio companies like GE Aviation are well-established in Québec. Major companies doing cross-border business together account for that proximity as well: think of Bombardier and NetJets. Another key component of that relationship is innovation: in September 2012, Aero Montréal and CRIAQ (Québec’s aerospace research and innovation consortium) signed MoUs with the Ohio Aerospace Institute and many projects are ongoing or in development.

The aerospace partnership between Québec and Ohio has recently begun to address issues of student mobility and workforce development. On November 18, Denis Faubert, President of CRIAQ, and Québec Representative to the Midwest Eric Marquis were featured speakers at a symposium on education, innovation and talent attraction held at Ohio State University. Keynote speakers also included Ohio Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor and Siemens USA CEO Eric Spiegel. As part of this symposium, which was organized by Ohio GREAT, experts from Québec, India and Ohio had an opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with developing a workforce attuned to the emerging economic sectors (Industry 4.0) and to underscore the importance of international partnerships that will favor student mobility and innovation.

In that regard, it should be noted that Ohio and Québec have begun discussions to sign an agreement on student mobility and innovation as it applies to fields of shared excellence, such as aerospace, advanced manufacturing, advanced industrial materials and transportation. We hope that this agreement, which would both provide new opportunities for Québec and Ohio students and researchers, and facilitate the development of job-creating, cross-border value chains, can be ratified in 2017.

For more information, please contact Éric Marquis, Head of Office, 312.645.0395 x59711